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This story is produced and presented by our sponsor WVP Health Authority.

At the Head Start program location on Lancaster Drive NE in Salem, a group of four and five-year-old children were hard at work.

Elene Piceno, a family referral coordinator with the WVP Health Authority had the children choose the correct vegetable from a basket and then place it in its corresponding colored basket. Many of the veggies were easy to pronounce, such as corn, and others more challenging, like asparagus.

5120 Challenge.(Photo: Provided by: WVP Health Authority.)

Like most young children, they love to play and learn and absorb much of the information they will use throughout their lives. This is why Kathleen Huun, Ph.D., a professor at Indiana State University thought this age group was a good fit for implementing a basic 5210 curriculum.

The 5210 Challenge is centered on healthy eating and habits and has been used by many high schools and even corporations for several years. The focus is on eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, limiting screen time to two hours, incorporating one hour of physical activity into each day and not consuming sugary drinks.

Piceno and Huun worked with migrant children in the summer Head Start program. The group was selected because their families are typically not educated about the fundamentals of healthy eating. In collaboration with Huun, the framework for this project was developed by Schuyler Hibbard (MPH student at Portland State University) while Hayley Strenke (undergraduate student at Oregon State University) worked with curriculum development.

5120 Challenge.(Photo: Provided by: WVP Health Authority.)

“We try to keep the concepts simple,” Piceno said. “We found that the children really gravitated toward zero in the challenge.” “Anything you say to them, they will take it and absorb it.”

The 5210 Challenge isn’t just helping the children learn how to live healthier, it has also impacted parents. Piceno said the children will request water instead of soda or juice and this is helping their parents learn as well.

Ongoing work with the 5210 Challenge with older kids and adults has proven successful in many ways. While it will take some time to process what was learned, Huun said she expects to see similar success with the preschool aged kids.

“Without getting the feedback we did over the summer, we wouldn’t have what we needed to take this to other programs,” she said. “Now we have the information we need to enhance, revise, and share it with others so they can implement it in their programs.”

5120 Challenge.(Photo: Provided by: WVP Health Authority.)

This story is presented and sponsored by WVP Health Authority. To join the challenge click here: 5210challenge.org.